Latest News, Additions and Comments

NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula (NGC 2244)

C49 Emission Nebula, Monoceros
Mag 9.0 Size 1.3°
NGC 2244, C50 Open Cluster inside nebula
Mag 4.8 Size 24′
2012-01-23
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC Guided
Canon EOS 350D modded, Astronomik CLS
10x120s, 4x180s darks, flats, ISO 800
Captured in APT, Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5
Lost some subs due to clouds. Need more subs.

NGC 1977 Running Man Nebula

Running Man Nebula, Reflection Nebula, Orion
Mag 7.0 Size 40′x25′
2012-01-23
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC Guided
Canon EOS 350D modded, Astronomik CLS
9x120s, 10x180s, darks, flats, ISO 800
Captured in APT, Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5

M42 Orion Nebula

2012-01-14
First time out in ages. New attempt with modded 350D, MPCC and Astronomik CLS. This is uncropped. Stars are fairly good right up to the edge.

200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC Guided
Canon EOS 350D modded, Astronomik CLS
5x30x, 5x60x, 10x180s, darks, flats, ISO 800
Captured in APT, Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5

NGC 7635 Bubble Nebula

NGC 7635, C11  Cassiopeia “Bubble Nebula”
2011-09-28
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC Guided
Canon EOS 350D modded, Astronomik CLS
10x240s 19x180s, darks, flats,  ISO 800
Captured in APT
Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5

From Wikipedia: NGC 7635, also called the Bubble Nebula, Sharpless 162, or Caldwell 11, is a H II region emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It lies close to the direction of the open cluster Messier 52. The “bubble” is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot, 8.7 magnitude young central star, the 15 ± 5 M? SAO 20575 (BD+60 2522). The nebula is near a giant molecular cloud which contains the expansion of the bubble nebula while itself being excited by the hot central star, causing it to glow. It was discovered in 1787 by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel. The star SAO 20575 or BD+602522 is thought to have a mass of 10-40 Solar masses.

NGC 6960 Western Veil

Supernova remnant, Cygnus (“Witch’s Broom”)
Caldwell 34, Finest NGC 99a, SAC110 44
Size 70′x6′
2011-09-20
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC Guided
Canon EOS 350D MODDED, Astronomik CLS
5x240s 15x180s, darks, flats,  ISO 800
Captured in APT
Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5

First light with the modded 350D. So much easier to capture and process the nebulosity.

Jupiter 2011-09-05

2011-09-05 03:11:36 UT
200mm f5 newtonian x3 barlow
SPC900NC 20fps YUY2 120s AVI
Best 60% of 2400 frames
CM I: 105.23 II: 302.46 III: 238.35
Seeing: 6/10 Transparency 8/10
Capture: SharpCap, Processing: Registax 6

NGC 6992/6995 Eastern Veil

Supernova remnant, Cygnus
Caldwell 33, Finest NGC 99b, SAC110 45
Size 60′x8′
2011-08-24
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC Guided
Canon EOS 350D, Astronomik CLS
5x240s 20x180s, darks, flats,  ISO 800
Captured in APT
Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5

NGC 6995 is the irregularly shaped nebulosity in the left of the image, and NGC 6992 is the curved arc in the right of the image.

An incredibly rare and clear night with the Milky Way easily visible.

Albireo

2011-08-21
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC unguided
Canon EOS 350D
15x10s darks ISO 400
Captured in APT
Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5
Test shot to get everything working again after the summer break.

Widefield Plough

2011-07-27
Canon 350D
F=18mm, f/3.5
1x20s ISO 200
No dark frame or filters
Fixed tripod
Still not dark enough for normal astrophotography so trying some widefield images.

M51 (NGC 5194)

“Whirlpool”, Spiral Galaxy, Canes Venatici
Mag 8.1 Size 11.7′
2011-04-26/27, 2011-05-03
200mm f5 Newtonian MPCC Guided
Canon EOS 350D, Astronomik CLS
12x240s 35x180s 5x300s darks ISO 800
Captured in APT
Processed in Nebulosity and PS CS5

Updated version – extra subs, taken on 3 nights.
Older version below (2 nights subs)

Page 1 of 512345